The Cost of Cruising
For the last 10 days we have been holed up in Hopetown as several Northerly cold fronts have been passing through the Abacos one right behind another. These weather patterns always bring high winds with them.
For the last week we have been performing a few minor boat maintenance items and going to weekly events held at local establishments. This week we went to Bingo night, Trivia night, and pizza night in Hopetown. We also spent Dena’s birthday having dinner at the Sea Spray Resort on White Sound at the south end of Elbow Cay. The Nashville Country Music Writer’s group was staying at the Sea Spray Resort and put on a short concert for all the guests.
The Tilloo Cut – On days like this you stay in the Harbour
Since today marks 3 months we have been in the Abacos, I thought for this post I would outline what it costs to go cruising.
“So how much does it cost to go cruising?” There is an age old response to this question. The response is, “How much have you got?” This response is meant to convey the idea that going cruising can be as expensive or inexpensive as you want to make it. This is still largely true. There are some people who cruise on $12,000 to $15,000 per year (although this group is getting smaller every year) and there are people who cruise on $120,000 to $150,000 per year. However, most people who cruise full time are somewhere in between these two extremes. The difference is how, where, and on the size of vessel that you choose for cruising.
Since this blog is about cruising in the Bahamas, one of the most popular cruising destinations in the world, I will provide a range based on our experience of what it realistically costs a retired couple to cruise full-time in the Abacos.
Before I get into the monthly/annual expenses to cruise in the Bahamas, I want to talk about capital expenses.
The biggest capital expense is, of course, the purchase and upgrade of your cruising vessel. This is a big variable. I would say a 40-foot boat is the most common size cruising sailboat that you see in the Bahamas. There are many boats that are larger, but very few boats that are smaller. We have a 1999 36-foot sailboat. There are over 100 boats in Hopetown Harbour including our marina, and I have noticed only 3 other boats smaller than our 36-footer.
Most cruising couples opt for a larger boat – John & Suzanne on Journey
A major decision when deciding on a cruising boat is of course your budget. For about the same price, you can get an older boat that is larger or a newer boat that is smaller. There are benefits of either choice. At least for production boats, an older sailboat is heavier and of better construction as they were built for long sailing voyages offshore. If you plan to do a lot of offshore sailing an older, larger sailboat may make sense. However, today, older cruising couples are not interested in a lot of offshore sailing; they use their boat more as a home and for exploring different coastal areas by water. Newer boats are better designed to fit that lifestyle. Newer boats are beamier (i.e., wider) and are more spacious. Newer boats also have larger heads, larger refrigerators, and more countertop space for cooking. Another important and necessary upgrade to a later model boat is bigger diesel engines to accommodate bigger alternators for charging larger battery banks. Larger battery capacity is needed to support the bigger refrigerators and all the modern electronics that every cruising boat now uses.
Odyssey’s “Swim Platform” makes it easier to get on and off our dinghy
Our previous boat was a 1983 Pearson 34-foot sailboat. It was a high quality production boat. Our current boat is a 1999 36-foot Beneteau. Our Beneteau is just 2 feet longer and 16 years newer, but it feels like it is almost twice the size of our Pearson 34 due to the higher ceiling and wider beam as well as the length. In addition to all the design features mentioned previously, there are two additional design features that make our newer boat much more practical than our Pearson was. First, the stern has a built in “swim platform” that provides for easy access to our dinghy (important when carrying groceries, water, and beer). The second feature is the roller furling main sail which allows us to raise and lower both sails without leaving the cockpit. This is important when the weather is bouncy.
If we wanted to get a 40-foot boat and pay the same amount as we did for our 1999 36-footer, we would probably have to get a 1990 boat. This was just when the newer designs were starting to be implemented. We opted for a newer but smaller boat. But carefully choosing a well maintained larger but older boat based on your needs can be just as good a choice.
Odyssey’s roller furling main sail; the sail is rolled into and out of the mast, sort of like an old fashioned venetian blind
Assuming you have decided that you need a 40-foot boat, the price of purchasing and upgrading an older and newer boat will vary, but not by as much as you might think. If you buy a 30-year old, 40-foot boat, it may only cost about $60,000 to purchase the boat, but it is likely that you will have to invest another $40,000 to update the boat and outfit it for cruising. On the other hand, you could buy a 10-year old, 40-foot production boat, for about $120,000 which will not need as much updating, but may still need to be outfitted for cruising which may add another $20,000 to the purchase price.
Can you spend less for a boat? Yes, you can. Some friends we have made in the slip next to us, ironically also from Annapolis, MD, have a 31-foot boat which does not have a hot water heater. They use solar hot water bags heated up by the sun on deck and the bag hose is run through a porthole into their head/shower area. Their British built 1979 Nicholson 31sailboat can probably be purchased for about $40,000 plus upgrades, which can amount to another $15,000 to $20,000 for a total investment of about $55,000 to $60,000. This couple has cruised before in a much larger boat when their children were young and chose to scale down to a smaller boat, now that it is just the two of them. So this couple bought a smaller boat out of preference for a simpler lifestyle and not for financial reasons. They also still have their home back in Annapolis so their boat is not a full-time home. However, this size vessel is not common for people living on their boats even for just the winter months.
Remember no matter what size boat you choose, the sunset is the same
Most people used to the comforts of land life do not want to give up too much in the way of comfort when they move onto their boat. Plus the biggest difference between a 35-foot boat and a 40-foot boat is tankage and storage for personal effects. Our boat “Odyssey” can only hold 85 gallons of water including the 6 gallon water heater. Most 40-foot sailboats can store between 120 and 140 gallons of water. My wife and I use about 10 gallons of water per day not including drinking water. So the water capacity on our boat will last about 8 days. At this consumption rate, a typical 40-foot boat’s water capacity will last 12 to 14 days. This allows you to stay out longer on the hook before needing to come back to a marina for a water re-fill which is what most people prefer.
A 40-foot sailboat can probably store about 50% more of personal effects than a typical 35-foot boat. This is important if you plan to be on the boat for months at a time. This extra space is not for storing more clothes. It allows you to store more bottles of booze and food, kitchen supplies, scuba gear, back up boat parts, etc., in addition to more water and fuel. On Odyssey we had to add about a dozen storage bags that we screwed into the interior walls to add more storage space and I feel we are still stowing the minimum required for a long Bahamas trip.
And most of all remember to relax and be on “Island Time”
So, based on the above discussion, I think realistically we are talking about a minimum of $100,000 to $150,000 investment for a reasonably comfortable 40-foot cruising sailboat. If you can afford the difference, I would go with the newer boat. If you are one who can afford to spend more than $150,000, there are a lot more choices.
This post has gotten long so I will discuss the monthly/annual cost of cruising in the Abacos in my next post.
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Good stuff. I appreciate your numbers and experience. It helps me to understand how much I need.
You are living a dream.
Thanks
(Obviously I’m waiting for the next post)